what do you think of high intensity training

rubadub

does high intensity training have good effects, it seems it could cause harm. i am talking of body building here. using very large weight with low reps. like somebody helps you lift the weight up and you ease it down on your own.

Jak

Anything can be dangerous if done incorrectly.

First off I know you are not referring to it, but High Intensity Training (HIT) is also what I consider a very poor training philosophy put forward by Hit "Jedi's" :rolleyes: involving just doing single rep movements and getting out of the gym in no time.

What you are talking about is regular powerlifting/strength training I think. Having a spotter is good for safety and allows you to push yourself beyond your limits - which is where muscle breakdown and regrowth will start.

Letting the weight down slowly and having someone take it up is "negatives" again a useful way to develop confidence with a weight and to overload muscle groups.

It is risky if you don't know what you are doing, have a poor spotter, advance too quickly or plain **** up.

rubadub

the helper lets you lift weights heavier than you could lift yourself. you can lower a weight down that is too heavy to lift up. the theory being that the real muscle training occurs on the lowering part so you are really straining the muscle so repairs happen.
i hear you are only meant to do one session a week

Jak

The spotter lets you train on the margin of what you are capable of. If you fail - you don't end up crippling yourself as he can take the weight/assist you to finish.

A good spotter will let you take as much work as you can from your sets. Which alone you would be unable to attempt safely.

As for lowering - no. It is just another way to stress the muscle, muscle breakdown occurs from both parts of the movement.

One session per bodypart if you are training hard is fine.

rubadub

sorry i meant to say "the helper/spotter lets you lift weights heavier than you COULD NOT lift yourself."

if doing it yourself you can train with 1 dumbell, lifting it up with help from the other hand and lowering it with just one.

when starting out should you go with the largest weight you can do 12 reps with?
i can do 12 with 12.5kg on a single dumbell, is this ok starting out?

Jak

I'm not sure i understand you.

Are you talking about bench pressing with dumbbells?

And you are using only one dumbbell and doing a self assist on each arm?

Just get two dubmbells and use a lighter weight. Your program is dependent on the weight available to you and your goals.

rubadub

i was just talking about standing bicep curls and self assisted on one arm (sorry dont know all the lingo yet)

i got 2 york dumbells 20kg from argos. i thought i would have sufficient weights (starting out anyway) to use the 2 at once like 10kg on each arm, but i can lift more so i can only do one arm at a time, unless i use less weight or buy more.

Jak

Yah then that should be fine.

Try to do them with your back against the wall - so you don't lever or swing them up with your upper body back.

You can use your free hand to slowly spot and assist the movement to get the most from it.

JAK.

Guv

The only thing JAK forgot to mention was:

All training should be high intensity. HIT was developed by the late Mike Mentzer who also promoted the drinking of ones own urine for health benefits. Basically HIT was a great marketing exercise as it helped sell a lot of books.

Train hard and heavy and eat loads and in a few months you will be a lot bigger.

JAK has in a year added 12 kilos of muscle to his physique and this is WITHOUT any chemical assistance. How did he gain this weight? Hard, consistent training and lots of food.

There are no secrets or magic pills, the bottom line is and will always be hard work!

DUX

I work out and have about 3 or 4 periods of high intesity training a year (of about 3 weeks each). In that periods I usually try to use higher weights and put 110% effort in my training sessions. Also I would advise to take some supplements like Proteins (but you can take those all year long with no problems) and Creatine (which should not be taken for long periods of time because could result damaging in the long term and the effect of it vanish if your body get use to it) but is definetly the best supplement around and can be bought in every fitness shops (is very expensive in Ireland though, I usually buy it in Italy and bring it over).

For sure I would not be able to train all year long in the same way, I wouldn't have physical energie and would also be mentally tired as working out could be very stressful sometimes and nearly become an obsession (sense of guilt when you skin a training).

But this is the price to pay.....